A very young girl's first-day-of-school jitters prompt a nighttime visit from Foxy, whose magical tail causes “school supplies” to appear, fairy-godmother style.
Emily is an adorable, rosy-cheeked tyke with curly red hair, black button eyes and the terrible worry that she will not have the right school supplies, hence the visit from the magical Foxy. A swish of his tail produces a pencil…or not. Close, but not quite—it’s actually a penguin. Luckily, the second time’s a charm. But subsequent requests also produce mix-ups: a birdcage instead of a pencil case, an easel in place of a notebook, an elephant (life-size) rather than an eraser, a pirate flag instead of a school bag. Emily is ever polite, sweetly correcting Foxy when he is wrong and thanking him when he gets it right, commenting, “I guess magic is hard.” And when her next worry arises—that she is not smart enough—Foxy’s tail fills her head with knowledge, which prompts her to remark, “I think I would rather learn these things at school.” Her last worry, that no one will like her, does not require any magic to dispel. The silly humor that characterizes many of Dodd’s other books is evident here, text and digital illustrations pairing seamlessly to create chuckles.
Kids nervous about their own first day may just fall asleep wishing for their own Foxy visitor. (Picture book. 3-7)
